CWT acquires Ormès

CWT completes strategic acquisition in French meetings and events organization

AMSTERDAM | 10 JUNE, 2015Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) announced the acquisition of Ormès, an agency specialized in corporate meetings and events. By bringing together CWT Meetings & Events and Ormès, CWT confirms its ambitious strategy in the meetings and events market and creates a leading organization in corporate events.

With Ormès growing 20 percent between 2013 and 2014, the acquisition strengthens CWT’s offer to clients by combining CWT’s large international meetings and events network with a strong local footprint.

He continued, "Today, events are a priority for brands, and we have the global experience and expertise, creativity and financial discipline to positively impact clients’ meetings and events programs."

Michel Dutertre, chairman, Ormès, has been appointed to lead the integration of the two companies. He commented, "Ormès and CWT have always shared a common market vision, and our size, areas of expertise and corporate values have naturally brought us together. The loyalty and trust which customers place in our team is our most valuable asset, and this, combined with the enthusiasm of our teams, is the best guarantee of success."

As a leader in the French corporate meetings and events industry with 150 employees, the organization will continue to offer all areas of event creation and production and Strategic Meetings Management, ranging from small meetings to large, high value events.

About CWT
CWT is a global leader specialized in managing business travel and meetings and events. CWT serves companies, government institutions and non-governmental organizations of all sizes in more than 150 countries and territories. By leveraging both the expertise of its people and leading-edge technology, CWT helps clients derive the greatest value from their travel program in terms of savings, service, security and sustainability. The company is also committed to providing best-in-class service and assistance to travelers. In 2014, sales volume for wholly owned operations and joint ventures totaled US$27.3 billion. As part of its commitment to responsible business, CWT is a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact Ten Principles. For more information about CWT, please visit our global website at www.carlsonwagonlit.com. Follow us on Twitter @CarlsonWagonlit.

About CWT Meetings & EventsCWT Meetings & Events is the meetings & events division of Carlson Wagonlit Travel business portfolio, the world’s leading business travel and meetings management company.

CWT Meetings & Events is where ideas meet results. We are a global, full-service meetings and events agency with unparalleled experience, providing innovative, effective end-to-end strategic meetings and event management. With over 1,400 event specialists across over 68 countries, our expert local knowledge is backed up by our global resources.

We are driving industry-leading innovation in strategic meetings management and delivering over 35,000 creative, high-quality events for customers from all industry sectors each year. Our creative know-how helps us to deliver events with creative and innovative venue sourcing, while with our logistics expertise, we help clients with group travel, compliance, logistics, and at the same time save them money.

For more information about CWT Meetings & Events, please visit our website or follow us on Twitter.

About Ormès
As a key player on the market of corporate event communications in France for 40 years, Ormès has built its reputation on its operational response capability, financial strength and client proximity. Present in Paris, Lyon, Nice and Toulouse, the agency defends the vision of a strategic and responsible event within the communication mix of corporations and organizations’ communication mix.

Companies that have implemented a program for the strategic management of meetings say their programs are successful, though they also say there is still more work to do. The key benefits of an SMM program are greater transparency of spend, cost reductions, improved compliance, risk mitigation and, ultimately, improved effectiveness of their meetings and events. This is according to a new global study, released today by Carlson Wagonlit Travel and The BTN Group.

More than half of the respondents said they had made 10 percent savings from their SMM program, with a further 17 percent of respondents saving more than 15 percent.

The research found that many factors go into the make-up of a strategic meetings management program, making each one unique. There is a perception that the lack of a standard is because SMM is complex. However, SMM programs are in fact ultimately flexible and are tailored to each company’s specific requirements. Over 60 percent of the survey respondents outsource an element of their SMM program, be it tactical support or consulting services for example, which also helps simplify the path to success.

Kari Wendel, Senior Director of Global SMM Strategy & Solutions at Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s CWT Meetings & Events line of business, said, “What we found is that practically everyone who runs a strategic meetings management program defines their program as successful. All the experts agreed that a strategic meetings management program doesn’t have to be complicated and the returns can come very quickly. The advice that emerged from our research is that if you’re starting out, it’s a question of keeping it simple and focusing on strategy: tactical implementation will follow quickly. Don’t be too ambitious to begin with, demonstrate value and then grow. And the absolute key is to identify your stakeholders early on and get their buy-in.”

While there are many components to SMM, strategies typically start with centralized sourcing and contracting of hotel suppliers. This is where much of the cost transparency and saving arises. The study showed that cost transparency and reduction is seen as the most important success metric, followed by attendee and sponsor satisfaction and regulatory compliance.

One of the main barriers to implementing an SMM program is volume: a significant number of survey respondents felt they did not have enough meetings to justify a program. However, the benefits can be realized by companies that spend as little at US$1 million on meetings each year. Over 70 percent of respondents with a program are looking to expand it, clearly demonstrating the value of SMM programs.

Cindy Fisher, Vice President of CWT Meetings & Events at Carlson Wagonlit Travel, said, “We also looked to the future and found that there will be integration of SMM programs with marketing and events programs. Continuing industry consolidation is also going to have an impact. Bigger hotel groups, for example, will make it harder for companies without a strategic approach to negotiate good rates, or even perhaps secure space. What is abundantly clear is that an SMM program is rapidly becoming a necessity.”

CWT and The BTN Group interviewed with more than 20 travel and meetings management experts and SMM professionals. In addition, 246 meetings planning professionals, from multiple regions of the world, completed an online survey.

About CWT
CWT is a global leader specialized in managing business travel and meetings and events. CWT serves companies, government institutions and non-governmental organizations of all sizes in more than 150 countries and territories. By leveraging both the expertise of its people and leading-edge technology, CWT helps clients derive the greatest value from their travel program in terms of savings, service, security and sustainability. The company is also committed to providing best-in-class service and assistance to travelers. In 2015, sales volume for wholly owned operations and joint ventures totaled US$24.2 billion. As part of its commitment to responsible business, CWT is a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact Ten Principles.

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